A woman admiring a picturesque view live online helped save a man from freezing to death.

The woman, who hasn't been named, was watching the sun set over the frozen North Sea on a tourist webcam when she spotted a man wandering on the ice.

She alerted local authorities from her home in northern Germany hundreds of kilometres away from the town of St Peter-Ording.

Police spotted the man, who had wandered onto pack ice off the coast to photograph the same stunning sunset. He had become lost on the ice and, unable to locate the beach, was flashing his camera to attract attention.

It was this flashing which caught the attention of the webcam viewer, according to news agency Associated Press.

After police officers located the man's signals and guided him in to shore by flashing their car lights, he was lectured him on the dangers of trekking on the ice.

Police spokeswoman Kristin Stielow said locals are well aware of the risk of disorientation as darkness falls, but vivid sunsets over the frozen landscape often draw people away from the shore.

She added that when the man lost his bearings, the air temperature was below freezing so he could easily have frozen to death or fallen through the ice if it hadn't been for his online helper.